Hershey, Union Come to Terms

Neither Hershey nor Chocolate Workers Local 464 would
discuss the terms of the agreement, which was announced
last night after 11 hours of negotiations. The union
represents about 2,800 workers from two plants in Hershey,
Pennsylvania.

The company’s last offer prior to the strike called on
workers to pay 10% of the cost of their health care
coverage, up from 6% currently – a share that would
increase to 12% by the end of the four-year contract. It
also provided annual pay raises for the workers, who make
about $18 an hour on average, according to the union.

Union workers walked off the job April 26 after failing
to reach an agreement on the company’s move to have workers
pay a larger share of their health insurance costs. The
four-year union contract expired on November 4.

Thursday’s talks were the second of the week. Talks
initially began on Monday and ran for 21 hours before
reaching an impasse. At that point Hershey said it would
start to hire temporary replacement workers.

This was the fifth labor stoppage in the 97-year-old
candy maker’s history.